After a memorable 2013, Nadal eyes an awesome 2014

Spain’s Rafael Nadal (left) serves as team-mate Francisco Roig looks on during their first round doubles match in Qatar ExxonMobil Open at Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex yesterday. PICTURE: Jayan Orma

By Satya Rath/Doha

Three years hence, after scripting one of the most amazing post-injury comebacks in the history of the game in 2013, the Spaniard is back. And he’s raring to go.

“Yes, I am excited to be back in Doha again. It’s a place where I feel comfortable, have some good friends here. Last year was tough, but a memorable one. The start of a new season always gives a special feeling. And my goals are always similar - to try and give my best, always,” the world No 1 said yesterday.

“I started today in doubles. It will help me for a little bit more practice and (I’m) trying to practice as hard as I can during these days. I hope to be competitive tomorrow, but if not, I am going to keep practicing hard because in two weeks (it’s Australian Open and) that is important for me.

Thankfully, his troublesome knee seems to be getting better and better.

“For me, health is the most important thing. Without health, the rest is impossible. I did some treatment on the knee during the off-season. The good thing is, the treatment is working really well. I am feeling better and better every day. That’s very important for me,” Nadal added.

He said he had tried out a different treatment and it seems to be working fine for his knee. “It’s difficult for me to explain it (the treatment) in English, but I feel this one really makes me feel more comfortable because I don’t have pain like I had earlier. Though I played well last year, I had to take anti-inflammatories most of the days. Now I feel no pain, so I feel very happy about that.”

Many top players have often complained about the long tennis season, which, some feel, is leading to more and more injuries. As the season gets longer, the off-season is getting shorter. And even during that period, top players go around the world playing exhibition events. Nadal, though, has no complaints about the ever-extending season.

“For me, the problem is not how many weeks of off-season you have, the problem are the mandatory events that you have to play. I may have no problems playing till the last week of the year, but you should not be forced to play, no? You should be allowed to choose.

“Then, we have sponsors, and we need to do things for them… Talking about exhibition events, for us sometimes it is important to visit places that you cannot visit during the normal tour. Like for me, I enjoy visiting new places, I like playing in places where I never got a chance to play before. When you’re playing exhibitions, you try your best when you play the match, but after that it’s like a holiday for me.”

He said he plans his tour schedule a year in advance.

“The tennis calendar is not about how many tournaments you play; it’s about how many matches you play. Now I am playing here, then I am playing in Australia, and then I have Buenos Aires and Rio in my calendar.

“I had a great experience playing there last year on clay in February, so I want to be back there. Then my idea is to play Indian Wells and Miami, but you never know. You have to have an idea what you are going to do before the season starts, and you prepare accordingly,” Nadal explained.

Novak Djokovic has hired Boris Becker as coach, Roger Federer has hired Stephen Edberg, Andy Murray already has Ivan Lendl. But Nadal has no plans to follow the same route, saying he will continue to be coached by his uncle Toni.

“Tennis is a simple sport. You don’t need to study a lot to teach tennis, that’s my opinion. If something is going wrong with my game, I always feel it’s because of me, not because of others. When everything is going right, it’s because I am doing the right things.

“I am quite happy with my team, and have no plans to change it. Whatever success I have had in my career has been with this team, I have had my good and bad moments with the same team. If anything goes wrong, nobody is responsible more than me.

“In these many years, I only changed my physio. But that’s because the one I had before left as he wanted to spend more time with his kids, not because I fired him. I feel comfortable like this. If I haven’t changed my team till the age of 27, I probably never will.

“But yes, it’s good to have big stars, past stars involved in our sport like Lendl, like Becker, like Edberg… It’s great news for our tour, for our sport. In the end what makes any sport big is a combination of past and present. I think it’s great to combine events with a lot of history, and at the same time it’s great to engage past champions and they can do a lot with their past experience.”

Nadal will open his Qatar Open campaign against Czech Lukas Rosol today.